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Sunday, February 22, 2009

It was 21 February. Spring. The month of Falgun in Bengali calendar. A special day. This is the day when young voices refused to bend in front of the then Pakistani Government’s decision to reject Bangla in favour of Urdu. Streets wore reddened, but the voices were so strong that the despotic government had to let go. That day of 1952 came alive once again. The sacrifices of that day are the reasons why we can talk in Bengali today. As usual, the day was celebrated with great enthusiasm. The souls of Salam, Rafiq, Barqat, Jabbar were there somewhere; watching us; shedding tears from the heavens. It was a day of remembrance and mourning, as much as a celebration of the results of their sacrifices. And its no longer a celebration of a historic day alone; its not just a day for Bangladesh; it’s the International Mother Language Day. This is the day when we celebrate the privilege of being able to speak in our mother tongue. This is a day of global significance.

The main celebrations were, as usual, around Shaheed Minar, the monument in remembrance of the sacrifices of the language martyrs. I haven’t gone there for many years, mainly because of the deteriorating security issues. And this was the first time I went there with a camera. I started from Palasey intersection sometime after 7:00AM. And there was a huge crowd waiting there. I slowly moved towards the altar along with the massive crowd. This time, the security situation was even more heart-breaking. We had to go through so many checkpoints and searches that I even forgot why I went there!

The reason behind high security was several attacks by zealots in recent years and their threats. Although their main wings have been crushed in recent times, splinter groups still posed a significant threat. Security measures on that day was especially tight because of an incident the earlier day, where a captured zealot was able to blow up a grenade just before a press conference. The captured zealots leaked enough information to ring the alarm bells.

A contrast of tradition and globalisation.......... Raju Memorial at TSC at Dhaka University.........

Anyway, once I reached the altar, I found out that it wasn’t every gentleman’s game to break out from the crowd and go for some photography on the altar. I could see other photographers having a great time shooting there. But I couldn’t bypass the seemingly tough stance of the security people posted there. I came back disappointed, and met with my other photographer friends who spent the night at the altar.

My friends from “Through the Lens: Bangladesh” (TTL) group of Flickr arranged a photowalk for the night and the day. They documented the whole show from the preparations to the start of celebration at midnight, to the flood of people right after dawn. They had obtained security permission from the authorities, which I lacked. After a sleepless night, they still had the energy for yet another stint. All I needed to do was to join them. This time, it was around 9:00AM and the crowd grew even bigger. But this time, I was with my other photographer friends. Kamal did a great job as vanguard. Even though we were searched more than once, it was still less than what I had to go through during my first attempt. We were able to talk through. The situation became even better at the altar as we were allowed to go in! Wow!! That was some improvement since my last attempt! I was finally in the open. And my cameras were at work!

Part of the scare.......... This is the latest addition to the security forces...... SWAT....... trained in the United States and armed to their teeth, their presence was a real show of force.... but they were also responsible for the scare on people's faces.......

We just went past security people and entered the altar. I had already packed my shoes and stowed into the empty camera bag. It’s a long tradition to take off the shoes as a show of respect for the martyrs. The whole altar was in colours! It was some sight! I hadn’t been lucky enough to see Shaheed Minar like this before. I was right in the middle of flowers. Flowers everywhere! I had to watch my steps. There were volunteers at work, who were ‘processing’ the flowers. Using those flowers, they were decorating the altar with beautiful designs, signs, maps, writing, and symbols. A crowd of photographers filled the very little space left on the altar. I was just one of many. I knew many of them; but some were not known. There were many professionals, as were many amateurs like me.

I went on shooting there until I’ve found lighting conditions too harsh for good photography. It was around 10:30AM, when we finally broke off. It was a special day for me, as it was my first real photography at Shaheed Minar. I never had a camera with me when I had visited the place. This was the first time my memories of Shaheed Minar were captured in frames. I just can’t wait for next year.

6 comments:

"A contrast of tradition and globalisation", "Tough security measures scared everyone", "We remember the martyrs" and "Part of the scare" - you have successfully packed the whole environment of this 21 February.

Shaheed are considered only those who have lost there lives in the name of ALLAH and for implementation for his Sharia not those who fought for any reason like Racism,Language,Nationalism or Wealth.so we should be careful with all these Great terminologies..I regret that Pakistani surge of troops in Bangladesh wasn't Good and the inequality of rights between east & west were completely disgusting it was all happened because there were no Sharia law in both countries and Islam was considered as just a religion not the law of the state Pakistan of both side was the Miracle that how can it be possible of both Lands located on different sides but living under same rule and it was only possible for both to survive under Khilafah if we were together then the Half of India would have been under Pakistan,.however now we need to think again and should come out of satanic aggression which have always harmed us.May ALLAH give us Guidence Ameen

@deepestblue.......I would note your concern regarding the term "Shaheed"..... but not at all sure how I can support the rest of the words..... it has nothing to do with Islam and everything to do with "humanity"..... how can you possibly imagine a Khalifate with so much distrust among people of the same brotherhood?? Pakistani troops killed thousands of innocent civilians on the night of 25 March 1971, proving the absolute lack of trust among the people of the two sides of the same nation.... we haven't received any apology from the nation of Pakistan since.... as I said, how can you teach faith when basic human qualities take the back seat.... sorry to say that you are living in a dreamworld!!

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